"He won't." Roland looked up at her, sighing a little. "If he was going to knock either one of us down over this, it would have been me, and he would have done it already. He won't blame you."
That, of course, was a lie. But it felt like a necessary one, and if Roland knew Bert, then it wasn't entirely a lie - he strongly suspected that most of the blame was going to be shared out between Alain, Roland, and Bert himself. Nariko had done nothing wrong. She had only been the catalyst, and Roland thought that, on some level, Bert certainly knew that.
It just might take him a long time to figure it out.
He sighed again, tucking the cigarette between his lips and resting his hand on her leg. She was there. That was something - even if it didn't fill him with that heady relief any more, knowing for certain what it had cost.
For a long time, he just sat there, unlit cigarette in his mouth, hand on her leg, eyes downcast. At last, he said in a low voice, "I guess we knew it was coming. But that horn should have been sounded by the Eld's blood."
could be worse. could be 99. :3
That, of course, was a lie. But it felt like a necessary one, and if Roland knew Bert, then it wasn't entirely a lie - he strongly suspected that most of the blame was going to be shared out between Alain, Roland, and Bert himself. Nariko had done nothing wrong. She had only been the catalyst, and Roland thought that, on some level, Bert certainly knew that.
It just might take him a long time to figure it out.
He sighed again, tucking the cigarette between his lips and resting his hand on her leg. She was there. That was something - even if it didn't fill him with that heady relief any more, knowing for certain what it had cost.
For a long time, he just sat there, unlit cigarette in his mouth, hand on her leg, eyes downcast. At last, he said in a low voice, "I guess we knew it was coming. But that horn should have been sounded by the Eld's blood."